No. 11 W-SR uses 22-0 run to storm by WCHS girls

January 20, 2014

WEBSTER CITY - For six minutes the Webster City girls' basketball team challenged 11th-ranked (Class 4A) Waverly-Shell Rock for every point and every rebound Saturday night inside the WCHS gymnasium.

And then the Go-Hawks showed why they've got a number next to their name.

Holding onto an 11-7 advantage with two minutes remaining in the first quarter, W-SR (9-3) turned up the juice defensively and blasted the Lynx with a 22-0 run to seize control for good in a 62-17 non-conference victory.

Article Photos

DFJ photo by Troy BanningWCHS junior guard Lynne Chalfant (10) drives the lane and puts up a shot on the run during the second half of Saturday’s loss to Waverly-Shell Rock.

WCHS (1-11) got very few uncontested looks at the basket all night, particularly over the final 10 minutes of the first half when it was held without a field goal. What seemed like a game it could compete in suddenly shifted into a blowout.

"We just need to learn to play against that pressure defense," WCHS head coach Nicole Muhlenbruch said. "I thought my guards did a really nice job breaking the press and now we just need to transition that into offense and attack the basket more."

W-SR limited the Lynx to a single point in both the second and fourth quarters. WCHS sophomore Cassidy Bultena drilled a 15-foot jumper from the left wing and a long 3-pointer from the right side of the floor in those initial six minutes, but she was the only Lynx player to make a shot from the field in the first half. It wasn't until the first minute of the third quarter that someone pitched it when Allie Flaws knocked down a jumper from the free throw line.

Bultena scored seven points and Hannah Myers - the only other girl to score in the first half on three free throws - had six; they combined to yank down nine rebounds.

Flaws collected four steals.

Victoria Asplund had 19 points inside and Morgan Neuendorf had 18 on the perimeter for W-SR. Neuendorf and Ali Arns both banged in 3-pointers during the second-quarter surge that gave the Go-Hawks a 33-8 halftime advantage. They upped the lead to 50-16 after three quarters.

The Go-Hawks' in-your-face defense forced the Lynx into a woeful 6 of 37 shooting (16 percent); they were 1 of 15 outside the arc (7 percent).

"I called a timeout at one point and just said, 'Girls, we've got to score points to win ballgames,'" Muhlenbruch said. "I don't think they ever take bad shots; I think it's just once they catch it then the panic sets in.

"They want so badly to score, that's running through their minds instead of just shoot and relax."

Algona girls put game away in first half, topple Lynx 49-34

ALGONA - An early technical foul called on Webster City for a substitution violation led to a six-point momentum swing in Algona's favor and the Bulldogs never relinquished it in a 49-34 North Central Conference victory here Friday night.

"It was a big turning point," WCHS head coach Nicole Muhlenbruch said. "That shifted the momentum and in the same (first) quarter I'm sure we missed eight layups and bunnies, which would have evened the score. Right there, that set the tone for the game."

Algona, winners of four consecutive games, led 15-5 after eight minutes and 29-14 at the intermission. WCHS played the Bulldogs even in the second half.

Sophomore Cassidy Bultena scored in double figures for a second consecutive game; she was 8 of 8 at the charity stripe and scored a game-high 16 points to go along with six rebounds. Hannah Myers contributed all over the floor with nine points, 12 boards, four steals, two assists and two blocks.

Reba Zeller and Abby Strohman both scored 10 points for Algona.

WCHS will return to league play Tuesday night when NCC leader and third-ranked (Class 3A) Clear Lake comes to Webster City for a 6:15 p.m. tip-off.